When He Smiles
by TakeItAndRun
Summary: You wanted to know what V looked like when he smiled. You got your wish, but probably not in the way you expected.


**Author's notes** : _My true OTP is V/happiness, but V/MC is pretty cute too! It's also an easy way to write the stories that I want to tell (I'm partial to Jumin/V as well, but I'm not 100% sure how to write Jumin yet)._

 _Some notes:_

 _-This takes place in an AU where V is a romance option (I have hope that it won't be an AU one day, though)._

 _-This fic can be connected to my other story "Her," but I didn't plan for it to be like that. Therefore, you don't have to read "Her" to understand this fic._

 _-Hopefully my characterization of V is accurate, because I'm not through with Seven's route._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

You were fascinated by smiles. No, not the false ones that people put on when they feel like they're dying inside, or the smiles that are meant to hide anger and contempt—you loved real smiles, the ones that people wear when they were genuinely happy about something. To you, a person's smile was a thing of great beauty, something that wouldn't fade over time. Even when you went outside and saw frowning strangers in the crowds, you couldn't help but wonder what they looked like when they smiled.

You even did that with the other RFA members. You imagined meeting them in person and seeing their smiles, and you were able to picture them all too clearly. Zen's smile, you thought, would be the type of smile that movie stars had, something that would light up his face and make thousands of women (and men) swoon; Yoosung would have a kind, cheerful smile that would make you feel warm and bubbly inside, as if you're going into a hot tub in the winter; Seven's would be wide and toothy, the kind of smile a person makes when they tell a hilarious joke or pull a prank; Jaehee's smile would start out shy, but would bloom like a flower over time; and Jumin would have a small smile, one that was guarded yet unmistakingly joyful.

Yet, there was one RFA member who gave you some difficulty when you tried to imagine him smiling. That man was V, the mysterious leader of the whole organization.

Funnily enough, V was the first one you actually met face-to-face; for some reason, he had started to visit you, something that had shocked the other RFA members. You were confused, especially when he claimed that his reason was to make sure that you were doing well in the apartment, but you were not about to complain.

You had to admit that V had always interested you in some way, though you could not explain why. It might be because the RFA didn't tell you a lot about him, which made him an exciting mystery to solve. It could have been that him losing his girlfriend and injuring his own eyes made him a tragic figure, so he stood out. Or—and this was probably the most likely reason—it was because how he acted in the chatroom. He was quiet and timid, yes, but there was something about him that was calming, something that caused other people to obey and respect him (except Yoosung). Whatever the reason may be, you found him fascinating and wanted to learn more about him.

There was one problem, though—it was _really_ damn hard to get him to open up. V didn't seem to want to share a lot about his life; if he did, it was usually about his childhood with Jumin or his career as a photographer. Even when it came to the latter, he could only speak about it for a certain period of time before he started to look pained, which usually signaled that he wanted to change the subject. He didn't speak about Rika all that much, and when he did, it was the same regurgitated bullshit the other members said— "She was kind, she was beautiful, she wanted to help everyone, blah blah blah." However, you could understand why he didn't want to talk about her, considering how much her death apparently changed him.

Which begged the other question—what was he even like _before_ that?

The V you knew of was an enigma of a man with a demeanor of a church mouse. Even his aura was melancholic—although he didn't seem to get particularly upset over anything, just the way that he held himself screamed, "I desperately need a hug!" He had a low opinion of himself, deflected any compliments you gave him, and would probably blame world hunger on himself if someone accused him of causing it. He didn't like conflict, something that you had already guessed from his chat messages, but at least _there_ he had a semblance of a spine, constant apologies notwithstanding. When he was with you and you disagreed with him on something, or you raised your voice slightly, he folded like a napkin—he would freeze slightly and would quickly take back what he said, almost as if he was afraid that you would get angry at him.

That was another thing, too; he seemed to constantly be on his guard, as if he was walking on eggshells when he was with you. You could understand _why_ he would be nervous of someone he just met, but then why did he visit you in the first place? According to him, he was there on his own free will, so it didn't make sense for him to come over and act so skittish.

It might have been awful to say, but you started to wonder _how_ he continued to be the RFA leader. And no, "because that's what Rika would have wanted" did not count as a reason.

Still, all that made you want to do was to see him smile, even if it was just a little one. Oh sure, he smiled sometimes, but it wasn't a _real_ smile; it was more of a melancholic twist of the lips, as if he didn't know how to smile without looking like a kicked puppy. It was a shame. Despite his wishy-washy demeanor, he was a kind man—in your opinion, kind people deserved happiness, especially the ones who did not have a lot in the first place. Even so, it seemed like nothing that you did could bring a smile to his face, and you almost gave up and declared him a lost cause.

The key word being "almost."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been a long day; work was hectic, and the market that you stopped by was even more so. You still managed to get some groceries, and even bought extra ingredients in case V stopped by.

Because of all that, you were eager to get back to the apartment; so eager, in fact, you dropped one of your bags on the way there, causing you to grumble and pick it back up without noticing what was in it.

You got back to the building without any other mishaps and managed to get into the apartment quickly. You sighed in relief as you closed the door with your hip—you couldn't wait to put the groceries down.

As you entered the kitchenette, you noticed how thirsty you were. You smiled. _Good thing I bought some PhD Pepper._ You placed the groceries down and looked through the bags, smiling in triumph when you found the large bottle of highly-caffeinated goodness. You grabbed it and lifted it onto the counter. With a flourish, you started to open it with a mighty twist of the cap…!

...And got sprayed in the face by the sticky soda.

"MOTHER OF _FUCK_!" You were pretty sure that everyone in the building heard you scream at an inanimate soda bottle, but you didn't really care at that point. Dumbfounded, you glared at the bottle, feeling as though it betrayed you.

 _Wait...was that in the bag you dropped…?_

Your train of thought was interrupted by laughter, causing you to jump in shock and whirl around.

There, in the entrance of the kitchenette, was V. He apparently saw you getting soaked by the soda, if his laughter was any indication—and considering how he was laughing so hard that he was doubled over, it seemed like he found it hilarious.

However, you couldn't find it in you to be angry, because _holy shit V was laughing and he sounded fucking adorable._

Seven had joked around with you on the first day and told you that V possessed a nice voice; when you finally met V and heard him talk, you decided that Seven was correct. Still, you weren't prepared to find out that V's laugh was one of the most unexpectedly gorgeous sounds that you ever heard. It was light and airy, like the wind, and it had a certain musical quality to it. As cheesy and dumb as it sounds, you thought that V had the laugh of an angel, and you couldn't stop your face from turning red.

His laughter eventually petered out, but he still had a huge smile on his face. "Ah...I'm sorry. Your door was opened a crack, so I thought you knew I was coming. I didn't expect to see…" He chuckled again, his smile becoming even wider.

You stood there like an idiot, because _oh god he was really smiling and it was actually super cute?!_

You probably should have expected it; V was already a good-looking man, so it stood to reason that his smile was attractive as well. Still, you didn't expect it to _completely_ transform him like it actually did. The depressed air that seemed to shroud him was gone, replaced by something much lighter. The way he held himself was different as well; he seemed more open and less closed off, making his body language look more friendly. Not to mention that his smile itself was absolutely _radiant,_ lighting up his entire face and causing his cheeks to flush slightly. It was a shame you couldn't see his eyes, considering the sunglasses he wore, but you can imagine them crinkling with warmth and glee.

It was as if you were catching a glimpse of the old V—the one that Jumin, Seven, and Zen remembered, not the sad sack you were acquainted with. Though you liked sad sack V perfectly fine, it was upsetting that he wasn't comfortable with expressing positive emotions. _This_ V, however, looked like he didn't have a care in the world, and he was absolutely _stunning_ because of it.

You couldn't help but wonder if this was the V everyone pledged their loyalty to.

"Oh...I'm sorry," His voice snapped you back to reality. "I-I shouldn't have laughed, right?" Oh no, his smile was fading. _Shit._ "I'm so sorry—"

"No, no, it's fine!" You quickly interrupted. It dawned on you how ridiculous you must've looked, considering how you were standing in the kitchenette with PhD Pepper dripping down your face and hair. You couldn't blame him for finding it funny—if it had happened to someone else, you would've thought it was hilarious too. "Hey, do you think that this counts as a shower?"

That caused his smile to return, and you couldn't help but thank god for that. "I'm not sure, but I think that Seven would say that it does."

He was even making jokes! Okay, that was a little less surprising, because he made some before, but _still._

"Hmmm, I'll probably have to ask him later." You said. _Why was your heart beating so fast?_ "Hey, do you know where the bathroom is? I kinda want to wash this crap off of me before I do anything else." Maybe you should've taken a shower, but eh. You could live with some soda in your hair for 15 minutes.

"Of course. I'll get a towel." He picked up his cane—huh, he must had dropped it on the floor while he was laughing—and turned around, obviously heading towards the bathroom.

You watched him leave; belatedly, you noticed that your heart was still hammering in your chest and you had a bright blush on your face. It was almost like...you had a _crush_?

That was when you realized that you were well and truly screwed.


End file.
